I really like Agfa APX 400. I like to push black and white film and sometimes Tri-X can be a little too grainy at 1600 and Ilford HP5 can turn out a bit messy. Agfa APX is a happy medium and I’m starting to shoot more and more of it. Like any film, you need the right light to make the most of it, but it’s a film that you can shoot in broad daylight with no shadows and still come away (sometimes) with some nice shots.
When I first shot with this I didn’t push it (I always like to shoot new films I try at their box speed to see what they’re like) and found it rather milky. See the photos below, most of them are pushed but you can clearly see the ones that weren’t because they’ve got this milky look to them. I try not to read other reviews of films I talk about on here because it can influence what you say, but I did see one rather famous photography blog also describe it as milky, and that’s definitely the best term for the look, when not pushed.
I shoot an awful lot of Ilford HP5 and do get a bit sick of it. It’s then either Fuji’s Acros 100 or Agfa APX 400, pushed to 1600. When you push it the blacks go blacker and there’s considerably more contrast, something I like when shooting black and white. The samples below were mostly taken with a Leica MP with 35 Summicron V4, a few with my now sold Contax T3 and a couple with the Nikon F3 and Nikkor 50mm. It doesn’t matter what gear you have though, you’re going to get some good shots.
I reckon this is one of the most underrated 35mm black and white (or colour for that matter) films out there now. It’s relatively cheap (around HKD$50 per roll) and easy to get (at least in Hong Kong). For more examples and what the film looks like in different situations, just check out the group page on Flickr. And I don’t want to make excuses (much!), but the prints look way better than the scans. here we go with some sample images from Agfa APX 400.
Hong Kong – Agfa APX 400
Melbourne – Agfa APX 400
Suzhou – Agfa APX 400
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